The Alchemy Wars - Ian Tregillis (Spoilers for the Trilogy)

[HexMachina]

Since I'm eager to hear what others thought of the Rising in more detail I thought I'd start a spoiler thread. I'll spoiler tag for book two for now, just because it's only been out a week or so.

As for book one, The Mechanical, I very much enjoyed it. A little slow paced to start, but some great character building. I especially liked Berenice, and thought that the unfolding of her plans (rather than giving the Mechanicals free will and letting them make their own choices, to turn them against the Dutch) gave a great nuance to the conflict, so that I didn't actively want to root for France or the Dutch. Couldn't help but love Berenice though, or at least find her incredibly entertaining. The price she paid for her mistake in trusting Montmorency was steep (all those lives, her husband, her eye, her position as Talleyrand, exile) and I did feel for her a lot.

i also found Jax very compelling. I seem to recall someone elsewhere saying they found him a bit bland, but thought it intentional due to his servitude status for parts of the novel, but I found him very engaging, and enjoyed his interactions with other Mechanicals both before and after attaining free will. It was interesting to see the culture of the mechanicals without free will and their hidden language they use to communicate without their owners knowing.

Visser was brilliant, and had some truly harrowing scenes in his chapters. I found myself squirming uncomfortably during his lobotomy scenes, and the stripping away of his free will was deeply disturbing. Anastasia Bell is a terrible terrible woman...but I find her a great villain.

Book 2, The Rising

Spoiler

As a whole I was impressed, although I think the first book was slightly better. This one seemed to be extremely fast-paced, especially in the last 20% or so, where Tregillis seemed to be rushing to bring everyone into Marseille in the West at once. I don't necessarily need or want huge travelogues, but Berenice's journey back from France seemed to be very much glossed over me when she really ought to have faced a lot more difficulties than she did, what with travelling into a war zone. As to the rest of Berenice's story, found it good but not great. Her interaction with Anastasia Bell at the beginning was very good, and I can't wait for the two to meet again (no-one seriously thinks Anastasia is dead right?). Interesting to see her give free will to a Stemwinder and the subsequent rampage. Thought the gradual revelation in both hers and Daniel/Jax's chapters re: Rogue Clakkers in society was well done, and makes a lot of sense within the context of the story. At first I thought it was a bit of a pull from nowhere having those Rogues save her, but looking back it doesn't really bother me at all. My favourite chapters were probably her deciphering the language of the Alchemists at the Inn. 

I feel like Quintessence is something obvious I should have recognised but genuinely cannot think what it is.

Jax, or Daniel, was my favourite POV character in this book. Queen Mab was a very well crafted antagonist and I appreciated how Tregillis has essentially made his three factions all work with the same means; to keep the Mechanicals from attaining free will. They all have different end goals, but their methods are the same, which really makes them as bad as each other, IMO. And I like how Daniel has grown as a character. He's learnt distrust, caution, subterfuge, all kinds of emotions and experiences. And I like that he picked up on some of Berenice's expletives  

Lonchamp was also very well done, and I enjoyed getting the new POV. Gruff on the outside but damn he really does care about New France and the civilians doesn't he? I had a few problems with his chapters, though not with him as a character. The main one was Visser, and his disappearance from the novel after Longchamp captured him until Berenice showed up. I understand Longchamp was busy, and Tregillis wanted to keep things mysterious, but for Longchamp to not think even once that they had imprisoned him? Meh. 

I was also disappointed by his awfully underwhelming death at the end.  

I would have liked to have Visser's POV back. And I liked King Sebastien at the end, hopefully we will get to see more of him in the next novel.

As for the ending...too abrupt, I think, but overall I enjoyed it. I guess the final novel will be exploring the idea of the Mechanicals obtaining free will, and whether or not they can show restraint against the people who enslaved them for hundreds of years.

[peterbound]

I'm about half way through the rising (for some reason I started reading the fold yesterday and couldn't put it down. Done now, back to robots and shit) and am loving it. The New France chapters have me depressed as hell, as I can't quite work out a way that they are going to come out ahead (I'll read your spoilers after I post this, as I love me some spoilers, knowing what happens will make those chapters bearable) and annoyed as hell with the whole mab/lost boys shit going on.

[Xray the Enforcer]

I very much enjoyed the book, but there were parts that really strained credulity and patience, and there was the problem of just fitting too much shit into too small of a space. And I don't mean that the book should have been longer -- the narrative scope can't support all of the stuff going on in it. In particular, the Olde France Digression totally tested my goodwill toward the book. I liked the ending, though, and I'm curious to see how fucked up shit gets.

[RedEyedGhost]

You're really making it hard for me to wait until January to read The Rising...

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

I loved the Mechanical and its exploration of the meaning of consciousness and free will.  What happened to Vesser was "Evil" with a capital "E".  But if it could be done does that mean that the Dutch are right and that "Free Will" is a meaningless concete we allow ourselves to believe we have?

I'm a quarter of my way into The Rising and enjoying it so far.  Haven't made it to "Queen Mab" beyond the speculations of her existence.

[HexMachina]

I'm fairly sure that at some point in The Rising, someone raises that exact point Scott (about the Dutch being correct I mean). 

Was to the question itself, doesn't the opposite also hold true? That Jax was able to obtain free will would suggest that the Dutch are incorrect, if we reduce things down to such basic levels. 

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

Now I'm dieing for the Third book.  The teaser chapter was quite enticing.

[HexMachina]

Now I'm dieing for the Third book.  The teaser chapter was quite enticing.

wait, there was a teaser chapter in your version? Mine had only a sample from another book by another author (The Oversight, I think)

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

HEM,

Yuo.  I got a teaser chapter.  

one thing does occur to me.  The Mechanicals still need humans.

they can reproduce without the Dutch Alchemists, yet

[peterbound]

wait, there was a teaser chapter in your version? Mine had only a sample from another book by another author (The Oversight, I think)

Yea, I got the teaser as well.  Made me hope for a publication date for the next one to be soon... or is it?  

[HexMachina]

I just scoured mine and couldn't find one. Guess the Uk editions don't have the sample  Was it a new POV? Or an existing one?

Not sure about release dates, but the wait between the first two has been less than a year, so I would imagine not too long of a wait?

[Sheep the Evicted]

Just finished. Amazing! I'll take my time to digest it but so far I definitely think its an improvement over The Mechanical which i actually liked very much. I don't think we are meant to know what the Quintessence is yet. We can guess but i just don't think there are enough clues to make an educated one.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

HEM,

It is a new POV for a character we have already met.

StE,

I have no clue as to what the quintessence might be.  What do you think it is, a special type of crystal or something?

[HexMachina]

Now now Scott, don't be coy, give me all the spoilers  I assure you I did buy the book so I'm not cheating. I suspect another Mechanical. If I had to guess   

possibly Lilith, to give eyes on Mab and a different perception on humanity to Jax.

Im also a bit clueless about quintessence. Again, guesswork

But I guess it's something used in the construction of the Mechanicals. Perhaps it made the ones from the New Amsterdam forge resistant to the French chemicals. Or perhaps it relates to Bell's experiment in removing a person's free will?

[Xray the Enforcer]

The quintessence mine sounds an awful lot like

a meteor crater.

 

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

HEM,

The new POV is Anastasia Bell the Tunerer of the Verderers

Xray,

Interesting.  If you are correct doesn't that imply an upper limit to the number of mechanicals that can be created limited by what is mined at the meteor crater?

[.H.]

Crap, I totally forgot that The Rising came out already.  Ordering it today or tomorrow, so I'll be able to discuss soon.

[HairBearHero]

By coincidence, finally got around to picking these up. Loved the set up of the world, loved Jax/Daniel and Longchamp, thought Berenice relies a little bit too much on sudden moments of genius and coincidence but overall a likeable character (she reminds me a little of Avasarala from The Expanse but not quite as good). Loathed what happened to Visser, it really undermined the "neither side is good, they're just differently awful" vibe Tregillis had going. 

Thought the siege of New Marseilles was absolutely brilliant. Utterly depressing and wearying from Longchamp's POV. Ending was interesting even if everybody converged quite conveniently. 

Enjoyable, but so far not as good as his Milkweed triptych.

[peterbound]

By coincidence, finally got around to picking these up. Loved the set up of the world, loved Jax/Daniel and Longchamp, thought Berenice relies a little bit too much on sudden moments of genius and coincidence but overall a likeable character (she reminds me a little of Avasarala from The Expanse but not quite as good). Loathed what happened to Visser, it really undermined the "neither side is good, they're just differently awful" vibe Tregillis had going. 

Thought the siege of New Marseilles was absolutely brilliant. Utterly depressing and wearying from Longchamp's POV. Ending was interesting even if everybody converged quite conveniently. 

Enjoyable, but so far not as good as his Milkweed triptych.

Uhh, I thought he set up the Dutch being the big baddie pretty early on. I never got the vibe that it was anything but that. If you're referring to Bernice's thought of using he mech's to her own/counties end, I think that was a trait of the individual, not France as a whole. If anything he painted he Franks a little too brightly.

[HexMachina]

HEM,

 

Hidden Content

Xray,

 

Hidden Content

very interesting! I'll be eager to read that, she is such a detestable villain its great.

As for X-Rays point, my understanding is that

they acquired the mine from Montmorency. So quintessence wasnt something they used before they had that mine,or else it came from elsewhere. I guess it could be some for of rsdioactive material or something? Or, whatever it is wasnt used in the Mechanicals beforehand and has only been used lately to make them impervious to French chemistry